Great Scotts

By April the weather started to get really nice and when that happened the possibilities were endless. Oregon is absolutely GORGEOUS when it's clear and sunny. The first part of April was Easter, so we did some Easter crafts to get ready for the Holiday. The girls each got Easter Baskets with one little present (shape sorter for Alice and beach toys for Lila) and some candy. We did Easter Egg Hunts in the apartment because all of us were feeling under the weather. The Easter Egg Hunts lasted for a bout a week until I finally called it quits and put all the Easter stuff away. It was a nice lazy day. During the weeks when dad was working the girls and I spent a lot of time out walking on our local trail and to the local park, going to lots of other near by parks, visiting the duck pond and trails behind the library and swimming and playing at the many splash pads. When it got too hot or rainy we would frequent the library, the indoor playground, the indoor pool and Pump It Up Jr. There was definitely an array of things to do with small children, which is why I don't understand why people that live their don't have more children or why they are so opposed to other people having several children. I have to say that I was not too impressed with the view points of may Oregonians in that respect and they didn't hide how they felt either, especially the closer you got to Downtown Portland. The facilities they had were fantastic and we always had lots of fun and spent a lot of time doing different things instead of being cooped up inside. The quality and the amount of parks with playgrounds was fantastic and so was the local library. It was a HUGE two-story building with the majority of the first floor with a sectioned off area for kids. There were rows and rows of books and a nice big play area with toys and computers for the kids to play on. We would go at least once a week and when the weather was nice we would bring bread to feed the ducks and geese at the pond right behind the library. I wish Texas had more outdoor stuff like this geared for kids to do.

Easter Crafts

Yay for jelly beans!

11 months old

duck pond

the geese were rather feisty

On the weekends when dad was home we ventured a little further from home. One weekend we went on our first hike that season in the Columbia River Gorge. Talk about breath-taking views. Everywhere you go on either the Oregon side or the Washington side there are hiking trails to view points and waterfalls. We hiked and saw several different waterfalls on the weekends that spring and summer. Lila and Alice always did so good and had a blast. I would wear Alice on my back in the Ergo and Lila would walk most. if not. the whole way. Every once in a while she would get tired and have dad put her on his shoulders. She would stop frequently to see a bug or collect rocks, sticks and leaves. A lot of times when we got to where we were going she would soak her feet in the water if we could get to it. The next day we decided to drive out to the coast. We went and saw Cape Meares Light House then went and played on the beach in Oceanside just past Tillamook. We had never been to that part of the Oregon Coast before. The other two times we had gone out to the coast it was further north to Seaside and then up to Astoria (where Goonies is filmed) and across the big bridge over the Columbia River into Washington State. Then we would drive back across the bridge and along the Columbia River back to Portland. I liked this much better. Tillamook is super quaint and much more country and the beaches are much nicer. It was too cold this trip to do any swimming, but the girls had loads of fun playing in the sand and running from the waves. It was good that we had brought a change of clothes for the girls because they didn't run fast enough. hehehe. On the way home we stopped and got pizza at Fat Dog's in Tillamook and it was insanely good.

our first big hike

just getting started

found a walking stick

Alice is here too!

It was a little wet and chilly

the wind blew all the water right at us

still here!

Too wet and cold for mommy and Alice

at the light house

What else do you do at the beach? but eat the sand of course!

daddy and his little girl

family photo (everyone's looking)!!!

daddy and his other little girl!

still eating sand. yuck!

Lila never stops moving

swinging at the park by our house

burrrrrrr

The next weekend we went on another hike. This time we got to see the "back side of water". There was this cool cave that had been carved out from the water where you could walk back up behind the water fall, truly magnificent! We kept going, which ended up being MUCH longer than we anticipated, but glad we did because we got to go up to a look out of the Gorge then onto Triple Falls. It was super fun and the girls did great although I got pretty exhausted on the second half of the hike because it got pretty steep and I had Alice who is no skinny mini on my back.

yay for family photos

my little adventurer and her walking stick

the back side of water

we made it (can you tell I'm tired?) this was a hike!!!

At the tail end of April and first part of May I had the best visitor that I could have asked for. My dear childhood friend Madison came with her two darling children to visit for a few days. We had fun all being squeezed into our two bedroom apartment. We got the air mattress set up for them in Lila's room and Lila was so excited to have her friend stay in her room with her. We had a great time letting the kids play at the apartment while we got to talk and catch up. We spent one day with the 6 of us taking the light rail into Downtown Portland. We had lunch with Spencer at the food trucks then ate at one of the "parks" nearby. I use park loosely here because even though it's labeled as a park it's more of a concrete corner for the vagrant population to sleep. Portland and Oregon in general do not care if there are vagrants everywhere, in fact the system supports it. I guess it's that hippie thing that they still have there. Any way, I digress, it was a nice lunch. The girls ate and chased the pigeons all over the "park". Then we walked down to the Willamette River water front. It's a nice grassy area overlooking the water with bike and walking trails. Afterwards we walked back and got some Baskin and Robins for everyone then got back on the train going home. The next day we got up and ate a nice pancake breakfast then went back down to the train and took a trip to the zoo. We met Madison's friend from her pregnancy group there and let the kids have a good time. Other than Lila and Alice (remember she's a crummy sleeper) being WAY over tired, Alice refusing to nap, Lila walking off and getting lost and the stroller tipping over (the second time that day only this time with Lila in it) we had a good time. It's a beautiful zoo with lots to see. Most the babies crashed on the way home on the train ride (except Alice of course). The next morning the kids got to play a little, but we sadly had to take them back to the airport that afternoon. I had so much fun with all three of them. Finley is a total sweetie and little Slater melted my heart. They were both so good and so much fun to be around. I especially enjoyed my time with Madison. It was so fun to see her in the roll of mom and what a wonderful one she is. Our time together was as if we saw each other every day instead of the last time having been almost 3 years ago. She cheered me up over some trying times and made me wish even more that we lived closer together. It would be so fun to raise our little ones together, especially because we are so close and the kids are so close in age. Thank you for coming to visit us! Madison and Denene have both been so good about coming to see us Scott's I wish I could say the same about me. I love the both of them so much!

careful Alice

bath time

bath time again

Downtown Portland on the Willamette River

Food truck lunch downtown with daddy

Playtime, lunch is over

on the Max

Oh this little guy is so precious. Love him!

These were too funny and cute I had to put all the poses we got from these two crazy girls.

Best Friends

Look at us all grown up!

Just a couple of days after Madison left my adorable Alice turned one! We had a small little party for her birthday at home. We got her some presents (cat mini piano and an interactive learning book (buying presents for the second child, especially the same gender is much more difficult. I feel like we already have everything we need or want for her)), balloons, cake and candles to celebrate. She even got her own little cake to eat. She enjoyed it, but didn't get it all over the place. She doesn't like being messy or dirty unlike her big sister. She is such a funny girl. She is so stoic and stand offish. She has stranger danger and separation anxiety big time. She doesn't get overly excited about things and is a little, okay sometimes a lot, hard to please. She is absolutely beautiful and her and I have a very special bond. She is VERY attached to me and many times only mom will do for her. She is super smart and very determined. She loves big sister and has learned a lot from her both bad and good. She always wants to be with Lila and know what Lila is doing. She spends a lot of time going back and forth between me doing something in the kitchen/living room to Lila playing in her bedroom. She's always keeping tabs on me to make sure I don't suddenly disappear. She loves to go for walks in her stroller and playing in the water especially at the splash pads. She is a very special little girl and I am so lucky to have her. I love all the cuddles I get from her and am loving watching her change and grow.

Alice did not like her hate, but Lila liked the cake hehehe

Presents!

more presents!

After Alice's birthday was Mother's Day. I got treated to some time alone, a nice dinner out and a hair cut!!!! The rest of the month of May was spent playing outside, more outdoor adventures/hikes and the pool once it started to warm up seems how we were on a 3rd floor apartment with NO a/c and of course it was an unnaturally hot season. One weekend we decided to take a trip over to Washington to Mount Adams. We got to see old lava tubes, ice caves, water falls and more beautiful landscapes. I loved that we were in Oregon for Spring. It was so beautiful. It was fun getting to see the coast, the Columbia River Gorge and all the tulips and daffodils every where you went. Such gorgeous country.